Biden marketing campaign burned via 93% of money raised in June earlier than he dropped out

Biden’s spending included a $50 million ad blitz ahead of his disastrous June 27 debate performance, which fractured the Democratic Party and prompted the relentless pressure that led him to drop out. His burn rate far outpaced that of his rival, former President Donald Trump, whose campaign spent just 46% of the money it raised in June and entered the final 127 days of the 2024 race with $128 million in the bank.

Biden’s campaign has spent $243 million through the end of June, Federal Election Commission records show, and hadn’t let up in July. Even as dozens of Democratic lawmakers called on him to quit the race, his campaign continued to spend. The Biden team has bought $35 million of ad time in July, according to AdImpact, compared with less than $70,000 for Trump.

The spending plans came as Biden’s campaign faced a de-facto fundraising freeze, with many Democratic donors reluctant to give more money to a candidate whose mental acuity and ability to serve another four-year term had come into question. 

Biden, 81, has been isolating with Covid-19 since last week and planned to return to the campaign trail in the week ahead before he dropped out. He and surrogates have at least nine fundraising events scheduled in the coming weeks, and it remains to be seen what will happen with those.

Biden’s financial misfortune was a stunning reversal from a few months ago, when his campaign was raising significantly more money than Trump’s and was poised to vastly outspend its Republican rival. Even as Trump’s fundraising has surged, his campaign has maintained a lean operation and has shied away from the costly field offices and large advertising blitzes at the center of the Democrats’ strategy.

The campaign’s remaining cash becomes an important consideration now that Biden has stepped aside. 

Where does the money go now?

Only Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed Sunday for the nomination, can inherit the balance under federal campaign finance law. Should Democrats choose another candidate for the ticket at an open nominating convention, the campaign could either donate its remaining funds to the Democratic National Committee or to a super PAC, but the new nominee would have to start raising money from scratch.

Overall, Biden and the Democratic Party entered July with $240 million cash on hand compared with $285 million for Trump, who has seen a cash boost since his conviction at the end of May on charges related to hush-money payments made to an adult entertainer. 

After a failed assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, figures from the tech and financial industries have pledged their support, including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. 

Billionaire Elon Musk has pledged to put $45 million a month into a super political action committee that is focusing on getting out the vote for GOP nominee, though those donations, should he make them, won’t be disclosed until October. 

Trump’s main super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $22.5 million, with aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow and Linda McMahon, Trump’s head of the Small Business Administration, each donating $5 million. The group started July with $114 million cash on hand.

Future Forward PAC, Biden’s main super PAC, raised $33 million in June and ended the month with $122 million. George Soros donated $5 million via Democracy PAC, which he uses to make large donations, the day after the debate. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman gave $3 million, and Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google, gave $1.6 million. 

MAGA Inc. is spending $19 million on advertising in July, compared to $13 million for the Biden-allied Future Forward.